It’s no secret that youth vaping has become a major issue in the U.S., placing a threat upon public health. Even though vaping devices like Juul are only for those of legal smoking age, they’ve made their way into schools across the nation. Now some Indiana schools are fighting back by investing in vaping detectors which should make it even more difficult to use these devices at school, according to WTHR 13.
Noblesville is the latest Indiana city that has decided to purchase these detectors, with other schools across the nation also following suit. The detectors will be located in areas where students would be most likely to try to vape, like bathrooms and locker rooms. They are essentially circular devices with sensors that look similar to that of a fire alarm. They will be able to detect if a student is vaping through the airborne chemicals released.
“The sensor is going to pick it up and it is going to alert someone that it is a vape and also, a vape with THC levels. Someone could right away see whatever happened,” said Chris Lagoona from Next Tier Products, the company who produces the sensors.
All the recent news about vaping is a tale of two very different problems. Here’s what we’ve been investigating. pic.twitter.com/4SZFnEgoBl
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) September 16, 2019
The sensors can be linked to the school security cameras and can even send a notification to the phones of school officials if they are set off. Thus, it will make it extremely difficult for a student to vape without being pinpointed.
James Gander is an educator for the Hamilton County Health Department who has had to confiscate plenty of vaping items from minors. He’s well aware of the dangers that these products impose upon health and wants young people to understand why this is such a serious problem, especially with more and more research coming out about people suffering from major cardiac issues as a result of vaping. Thus, he was a supporter of getting these sensors in an effort to fight the issue.
“We know the problem is there and it is getting worse. We don’t have enough administrators to be in the bathrooms at all times during the day. These detectors will be able to pick up everything.”
As The Inquisitr previously reported, new bills are aimed at cutting back on teen vaping. Flavored vaping products, like the popular fruit flavors Juul sells, have been banned and the age of which one must be to legally vape has been raised from 18-years-old to 21-years-old.